OROVILLE — While Oroville City Council members gave answers of approval into the mic, members of the public yelled at them: “shame” and “shame on you!”

The meeting, where councilors voted 4-2 to change the city code to allow for commercial cannabis activity, was expectedly contentious and the motion had predictable opposition from Mayor Linda Dahlmeier and councilor Scott Thomson. The State Theatre was the venue, as opposed to the usual Council Chambers which has much smaller capacity.

Before a motion to adopt the proposed ordinance was made, the mayor made sure to point out that not all councilors had weighed in. Vice Mayor Janet Goodson and councilors Jack Berry and Marlene Del Rosario gave no comment.

Councilor Linda Draper made the motion to adopt the ordinance, and Del Rosario gave the second. Draper said marijuana was already here, and the city could take it above ground.

“People act like if we have a cannabis dispensary it’s going to bring drug users to our town, and let me give you a little clue, people in this town are already using cannabis, OK,” she said. “The difference is we’re not regulating it and we’re not taxing it.”

Draper first read a letter to the council from Larry Tracy, who she said was a prominent local businessman. Tracy wrote that he used Cannabidiol cream which saved him from needing a serious surgery. He urged the council to be progressive and move forward on cannabis.

Draper said it was a hardship for people needing medical cannabis to drive over an hour to Red Bluff or Sacramento to licensed businesses.

Measure T, the cannabis business tax, passed with 59.89 percent approval from Oroville voters. Thomson echoed what several members of the public said — that the measure’s passage did not necessarily mean the idea of commercial cannabis in the city was popular with voters.

“To me, the argument is right along the lines with ‘we’re gonna drive the car the cliff, do you want a seat belt or not?’” Thomson said. “It’s kind of a loaded question.”

He argued that citizens should have been able to vote simply on whether the city should allow commercial cannabis. Thomson also made the point that most of the top vote-getters in the recent election were publicly against what the council majority was doing.

How that will play out with the new council come January remains to be seen.

Dahlmeier said that the council majority had exhibited “deception and unethical behavior” since the item was first put on an agenda, and she wanted no part in it. Meanwhile, Draper shook her head.

“If this was really about one or two dispensaries to make it accessible for the people who need it, I might have a different opinion,” Dahlmeier said.

The ordinance allows for three retail businesses. Outdoor cultivation is prohibited, no cultivation can be visible from the outside and no onsite consumption is allowed. Cannabis businesses cannot have advertising signage.

A 1000-square-foot buffer is required from K-12 schools, public parks, the Downtown Historic Overlay District, churches with 20 members or more and youth centers. There must also be 1000 feet of separation between marijuana retail businesses.

Risa Johnson covers the city of Chico, local politics and general news for the Chico Enterprise-Record and Oroville Mercury-Register newspapers. She has written extensively about the Oroville Dam crisis. She is a proud alumna of Chico State University. Reach her at 530-896-7763.